Squeezing the Last Bit Out of Summer

Last month I looked at our calendar and saw a bunch of blank dates in August.  Blank meaning no travel, no family obligations, and the most frightening of all, no camp.  That's right.  I was facing two weeks of long days with both boys, where all activities would need to be planned by me.  

I really was not into it.  

So I filled the calendar up quickly, and for the past two weeks, I have been on the move.  In fact, by the time the week is up, I will have been through five states in ten days.  

The first stop on my east coast road trip was State College, Pennsylvania, for a weekend away with friends.  This was a seven hour round trip car ride, solo, which I actually enjoyed.  Three and a half hour blocks of time with no one's mouth to feed or ass to wipe doesn't happen for me often.  So I actually relished the journey, and had an amazing time.  

After my weekend of debauchery, I swung back to DC to pick up the kids and head out the next morning for another joyous seven hour car trip to destination number 2: Wilmington, NC.  My husband had to work (the nerve!), so I did this trip solo.  It was painful, no doubt about it.  I had to pull over every time Braden wanted a new DVD, had to pee, or just generally whined to the point that I couldn't take it anymore.  Casey was relatively calm, as long as I flung goldfish over my head towards him and broke out in song upon demand.

And here we've been for the past week, bouncing between grandparents' houses, frequenting the pool, and getting our daily dose of chicken fingers and fries.  It has been nice, but it has been hard too.  The weather is great, there are activities aplenty, and there is always someone around (above the age of 3) to keep me company, but the houses aren't baby proofed, the DVR isn't stocked with Nick Jr., and Casey has decided to wake every morning at 6am.  And of course, despite the ample help available, the kids only want ME to feed them, ME to put them to bed, ME to bathe them.  I am missing my husband big time.  But luckily he'll be joining us on our next  and final summer journey.    

Tomorrow, I will spend another seven hours in the car heading back to the DC area, where upon arrival I will do laundry, repack some bags, and watch all the DVRed Real Housewives shows I have missed.  The next morning, we will all drive another four hours to Avalon, New Jersey, to spend a few nights at a house my brother in law rented.  

And then we come home, school starts, and the summer is over.  

This summer has been great, and I've seen so many friends and family.  In a lot of ways, this is what taking advantage of being a stay at home mom is all about - spontaneity, flexibility, seeing friends and relatives.  But frankly, I'm exhausted.  I'm ready for normalcy.  I'm ready for routine. And  I'm ready to stop driving.